Australia's first public register of child sex offenders – including names and photographs – has been published online despite concerns it will lead to vigilante attacks.

The state of Western Australia went live today with a publicly accessible register which allows parents and guardians to register on the site and then be contacted if a serious offender lives in or near their suburb. It also listed offenders whose whereabouts are presently unknown and published distinguishing features such as tattoos and scars. Parents and guardians can also check if a person supervising their children is an offender.

The state's police minister, Liza Harvey, said the website would improve safety but noted it was not a substitute for parental supervision and "common sense".

"Eighty to 90 per cent of offending against children is actually done by people that are known to the children," she said. "That's family members or close family friends." But legal groups warned the website could lead to vigilantism and abuse of people who have been wrongly identified as sex offenders.

"My primary concern is, once people have this information, what it is anticipated they will do other than try and run the bloke out of town," said Linda Black, from the state's Criminal Lawyers Association. "I'm not sure exactly what it is that the government expects you to do with the information."

Several other Australian states have reportedly expressed interest in setting up similar registers. A number of states in the US have publicly accessible registers. Britain has a register of violent and sex offenders which is maintained by police but not publicly accessible.

Jonathan Davies, from the Australian Lawyers Alliance, said the new Australian website would lead to "violence, damage to property, slashed tyres and broken windows." "These things will flow and they will have no practical remedy," he told ABC Radio.

But police in Western Australia said the site should not put offenders at risk and vigilantes who harassed offenders named on the site would face potential prison terms of up to 10 years.

"It then puts the person who takes the matter into their own hands, it puts them at risk as well," said Acting Detective Senior Sergeant Darryl Noye.